New Low Reached for Seattle Sounders with 22 Shots without a Goal
In remarkably new and frustrating territory for the Sounders, they were unable to secure an equalizing goal from 22 shots, only 5 of which were on target. It was a hair-pulling kind of day for both players and fans alike. The Sounders, who also dominated the possession of the match with 62%, had the majority of opportunities and options, yet their attack failed time after time. It was hoped that the return of Clint Dempsey would spark the more creative and dangerous attack, but it was not to be.
Line Ups:
Seattle fielded a strong line up against the Galaxy. In goal was Stefan Frei, supported by a veteran defensive line consisting of Tyrone Mears (RB), Chad Marshall (CB), Zach Scott (CB) and Joevin Jones (LB). The midfield was missing Andreas Ivanschitz, but held a strong force with Ozzie Alonso (RM), Cristian Roldan (CM), and Erik Friberg (LM). The attacking three were Jordan Morris and Nelson Valdez on the wings with Dempsey center. Zach Scott was wearing the captain’s armband.
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L.A. Galaxy were missing several key players, most notably Nigel de Jong and Ashley Cole. In between the posts was Brian Rowe. The back line consisted of Dave Romney (LB), Jelle van Damme (CB), Daniel Steres (CB), and A.J. DeLaGarza (RB). In the midfield was Baggio Husidic (LM), Steven Gerrard (CM), and Jeff Larentowicz (RM). Up top was Gyazi Zardes and Giovani dos Santos on either side of Robbie Keane.
First Half:
The Galaxy managed to find a goal early on in the 15′. Zardes burned defender Zach Scott on the left wing, which forced Chad Marshall to slide over and cover the sprinting Zardes. This left room for Keane to slip through the middle and receive the low cross from Zardes, while Joevin Jones scrambled to cover Keane. Seattle keeper Stefan Frei had no hope of saving the shot blasted up through the roof of the net from Keane. L.A. continued to press for sections of the first half. They utilized their possession well, finding lanes to cross into the middle. The Sounders defense continued to work to stifle those chances. Robbie Keane nearly had a brace, after he was released by dos Santos. Keane had plenty of space and time, but Sounders midfielder Erik Friberg applied enough pressure to deny the chance. Keane fell heavily in the box, and was screaming for a foul, but it was a no call from the ref. It remained 0-1 for the Galaxy going into the second half.
Second Half:
The Sounders had so many opportunities in the second half. In the 53′ Seattle forward Morris managed to find space and had deftly worked the ball away from the Galaxy keeper Rowe. He took the briefest of touches to settle the ball, but it was enough time for defender DeLaGarza to position himself for a block. Without a doubt, Morris will want that one back. If he had taken the time to place that shot, it would have been the vital equalizer. After that, the Sounders had a plethora of shots. L.A.’s defense seemed to barely weather the storm. Zach Scott had a solid nod
at goal from a rebounding corner. His shot went directly at the keeper. A header from Dempsey also nearly earned a goal, but for Rowe just pushing it over with his fingertips. Dempsey nearly finished another chance soon thereafter. Ghosting around in the box, he nearly slotted a loose ball in from the left side, but the severe angle made him hit post. In the 86′ Oalex Anderson went down in the box, the pressure coming from Dave Romney. The ref felt that it was a no call. In the 90′, Dempsey yet again had a chance, heading the ball down in the box. Dempsey, under pressure, placed his shot over the bar.
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Statistics (SEA/L.A.):
Corners: 9 / 4
Offsides: 0 / 1
Saves: 3 / 5
Fouls: 12 / 13
Possession: 62% / 38%
Shots: 22(5) / 7(4)
Substitutes:
Seattle Sounders: 64′ Oalex Anderson for Nelson Valdez (Inj.), 83′ Hercules Gomez for Cristain Roldan
L.A. Galaxy: 76′ Sebastian Lletget on for Giovani dos Santos, 85′ Mike Magee on for Steven Gerrard, 91′ Alan Gordan on for Robbie Keane.
Discipline:
Dave Romney, yellow card, dangerous play.
Hot Take:
Ultimately, something has to give for the Sounders to start finding the back of the net. Seattle is
“But you look at the game today, and if you landed from Mars and just looked at the game and nobody told you what the score was, who do you think the guy from Mars would say won the game?”
performing drastically under there talent, and there is never an excusable reason to have 22 shots on goal, with only 5 on target. There has to be a goal there. Referee Baldemero Toldedo maybe missed a few calls, and was as inconsistent as he always is, but he did not decide the outcome of this match. When a team can control possession and create chances like this, but can’t finish them, it says something about the locker room and the coaching, and it needs to be addressed in order to have any sort of positive takeaways this season. Even more bizzare was that Sigi didn’t even utilize his third substitute. This was a match that needed someone to change the game, and a fresh player could’ve done just that. Sigi Schmid said during the post match press conference “But you look at the game today, and if you landed from Mars and just looked at the game and nobody told you what the score was, who do you think the guy from Mars would say won the game?”. My answer to that, coach, is the team that has a goal. And I am pretty sure that is what the Martian would say as well.